Robert Filan

Robert Filan, loving husband and devoted father, passed away after a brief illness at The Villages, FL at the age of 84. Bob was born on March 5, 1938 in Brooklyn, New York as the first child of the late William and Marie (née Yoerg) Filan. He attended St. John’s Preparatory High School and later Niagara University where he excelled at running cross country and track. He commissioned into the United States Marine Corps following graduation from Niagara via the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Course. His love of country and the Marine Corps was only surpassed by his love of family and friends and devotion to the Catholic Church. Following his active-duty service, Bob continued his federal government service working for the Social Security Administration. His work would eventually lead to Bob and his wife, Joan (née Murphy), to do the unthinkable and move from New York. Bob and Joan initially lived in Owings Mills, MD and later their longtime home in Reisterstown, MD. Bob was an active member at Sacred Heart of Glyndon Roman Catholic Church and a steady volunteer for any number of organizations across Baltimore, but most of his efforts centered around his love for the people and families that made up the Sacred Heart Church community. Sports were a fixture in Bob’s life – whether it was the Baltimore Colts, then onto the Ravens, Orioles baseball, playing golf at the former Wakefield Country Club, umpiring college baseball, or volunteering as a youth basketball coach, that love of sports connected Bob not only to his children, but to the youth, neighbors and many close friends he seemed to collect over the years. When St. Mother Teresa’s Missionary Sisters of Charity opened an AIDS hospice in Baltimore in response to the raging epidemic, Bob was there to volunteer. Lecturer needed at the last minute early on a Sunday, he could be counted on to sprint over to mass. The Red Cross needed blood or platelets; he could be found rolling up his sleeve. Parishioner sick in the hospital, he was there as a eucharistic minister to bring communion and be the hand to hold on behalf of the loving parish at Sacred Heart. Upon retirement, Bob and Joan moved to The Villages in Florida where he seemed to pick right back up where he left things in Reisterstown - family, Church, golf and sports. He was an active member of St. Timothy Catholic Church and the Legion of Mary. Missed will be Bob’s sense of humor and his ability to connect with anyone he would meet. Bob is survived by his wife of 59 years, Joan, four children, William (Elizabeth) Filan of Trinity, FL, Kevin (Katherine) Filan of Alpharetta, GA, Christina (Chris) Miller of Poolesville, MD and Kelley (James) Glore of Sugar Land, TX, ten grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild and two sisters, Maureen Staudenmeier and Joanne Zucks. A mass of Christian burial will be held Saturday, May 27, 8:30AM at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lady Lake, Florida with inurnment to follow at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida. Arrangements entrusted to Beyers Funeral Home of Lady Lake, Florida.

Robert Filan

March 5, 1938 - February 26, 2023